We went cycling around Lake Inawashiro, the fourth largest freshwater lake in Japan.
What kind of scenery can we expect to see around Lake Inawashiro, which is about 60km in circumference?
Let’s start a trip around Inawashiro Town with a cycling beginner.

 Inawashiro Bicycle Rental  “Inachari”

You can rent a bicycle at  Inawashiro Tourist Association located near Inawashiro Station on JR Ban-Etsu West Line.
The conditions for renting Inachari bicycles state that you must be a non-Inawashiro resident and be able to show an ID card.
Regular bicycles cost 500yen and electric bicycles cost 1,000yen and can be rented from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.

I received a handmade cycling map at Tourist Association.
It also has information on stores, so I will use it as a reference.

First of all, we will go to Lake Inawashiro. On the way there, we found a roadside station, Inawashiro.

The roadside station opened in 2016 was crowded with families, tourists, and bikers from morning.

Light trucks and kitchen cars were coming to the storefront. It was less than 1km from the roadside station to the lake and we could quickly reach the lakeshore.

The surrounding rice paddies and the growing rice swaying in the wind was a magnificent sight.

The temperature was 27 degrees Celsius, but there was shade near the lake and it felt cool when the wind blew.
Cycling with a view of Mt. Bandai and Lake Inawashiro.

Inawashiro Town Cycle Center

There was a cycle center.

The road we came seemed to be a cycling road. The total length of the road is 3.6km.

It seems to be a rest area. There was also a restroom. I checked and found that the park is open from April 6, 2022 to November 23, 2022.
After a short rest, we headed to our next destination.
From here, we will leave the lakeshore a little and ride on National Route49.

There was a bicycle rental shop just before the national highway.

Inawashiro sightseeing boat

There were two big sightseeing boats, recognizable from a distance, docked at the lake.

They are “Hakucho-maru” and “Kame-maru”. Currently, only Hakucho-maru is in operation.

The sightseeing boats were revived through crowdfunding after being closed down. We are sure they will continue to entertain many tourists in the future.

Up close, she has a cute face with long eyelashes. People are boarding the boat one after another.

Also, there is a beach on Lake Inawashiro and it is open for lake bathing.
It was crowded with families and many people.

Tenkyo-kaku

It is about 300m up the slope from Okinajima Port. City bicycle may have a hard time.

Looking at Lake Inawashiro from a high vantage point, one can see how spacious and large it is.

We entered the site by walking around guessing that there is a cycle rack in the site.

This Renaissance and western-style building, designated as a National Important Cultural Property, was built by Imperial Prince Takehito Arisugawa.

They have opened a tea room for a limited time and seasonal tea and sweets are available in this dining room.

Sitting in the chair, we could feel elegant and wanted to relax.
The surrounding area was surrounded by trees, so there was no view of the lake, but there were not many trees when the building was constructed.
This place with a view of Mt. Bandai and Lake Inawashiro was a perfect place for summering and entertaining guests.

After the tour, we moved on to the next location.

As you ride toward Mt. Bandai, you will be tempted to take a deep breath as the countryside spreads out on both sides of the road. After enjoying the scenery, we returned to the national route.

Inawashiro Original Beer Brewery

There was Inawashiro Original Beer Brewery near the cycle center on National Route49.
We were curious about it, so we dropped in. There was also the World Glass Museum on the premises and many tourists were visiting.

They have been producing local beer in Inawashiro since 1997 and have won the International Beer Award every year.
The second floor is a restaurant where visitors can enjoy local beer.
At the store on the first floor, five kinds of original beers, “17846” were on sale.

These special beers are made with natural water from Mt. Bandai, malt and hops from Germany. We decided to take some as a souvenir.

Little Hero

We decided to have an ice cream at Little Hero, located along Prefectural Road7, after riding through the countryside toward Mt.Bandai.
There was also a hamburger shop next door.

In addition to soft serve ice cream and shakes, they also sold bread.

Soft serve ice cream hopped with ripe melon for a limited time only. The rich melon soft serve ice cream tastes sweet and forgets your fatigue.
Colorful fu-like confections on the surface. It was a fun looking ice cream.　(“Fu” is a kind of dry gluten.)
The vanilla shake was also delicious. We finished it in no time.
We decided to take a tour around the station, referring to the map we received from the tourist association.

Kashiwaya

Kashiwaya was established in 1852 and has its main store in Koriyama. We came here for their thin-skinned buns.
There are “Tsubu-an”, “Koshi-an”, (both are sweetened red-bean paste) and “Uji-matcha”.

I chose the “Koshi An,”which has been eaten since the establishment of the company.
It was delicious with an elegant and light sweetness. It is also good for a refueling meal.

Taro-an Sweets

Taro-an is located 700m south of Kashiwaya. We visited there because they serve ice cream popsicles.

Looking closer, we found that there were four kinds of “Aizu popsicles” instead of ice popsicles. (“Aizu” is a name for this region.)
There are also gelato. There were many flavors that we were interested in, but we bought an Aizu popsicles with milk.

We had it outside on a bench.
It was a rich milk, yet tasted refreshing and delicious. Perfect for a hot day.

Wine Making Shop AIZU

Wine Making Shop AIZU, located near Inawashiro Station, opened about 15 years ago as a hands-on wine studio.
They brew all their wine in glass containers.

Wine made from glass is said to have a clean taste without any ingredients other than fruit.

Sparkling La LaFrance. We bought it because it is rare.

Aizu Cidre, fry cider. We are looking forward to drinking it when we get back home.
After getting the souvenirs, we returned to Tourist Association to return the bicycles and finished the tour.

Course introduction

▼Inawashiro sightseeing boat
https://i-kankousen.co.jp/

▼Inawashiro Original Beer Brewery
http://inawashirojibeer.com/

▼Wine Studio Aizu
https://www.hondawinery.co.jp/

Summary

We enjoyed the vast Lake Inawashiro and the magnificent Mt.Bandai in this 27km cycling tour.
It was cool and pleasant along the lake, and we were able to take our time while enjoying the scenery.  We were able to enjoy the ups and downs as well as the slow and steep sections at the root of Mt. Bandai.
Many people use rental bicycles, so you can enjoy pottering around the town. Or you can use a sports-type bicycle and try to ride around Lake Inawashiro, which is called “Ina-ichi” among local cyclists.